China's Growing Role In Bangladesh Raises Concerns For India, US

In the last month, India's neighbor Bangladesh's general election has drawn attention in many parts of the world. It is not just because the ruling party of the Bangladesh Awami League, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, won the election comprehensively without any fight from the opposition. But the geographical location and the geopolitics of this region have made Bangladesh headlines several times.

The fact is that Bangladesh is not only the closest neighbor of India but, in recent times, one of the closest partners of China. Recently, when opposition parties claimed that there was no democratic value left in Bangladesh so that the election could happen, and they boycotted the election, the United States and some countries of the European Union raised concerns about democratic freedom in Bangladesh.

Although India refrained from commenting on Bangladesh's internal matters, China and Russia are the ones who supported the Sheikh Hasina government's way of handling elections in Bangladesh. They, in fact, indirectly told the United States not to meddle in Bangladesh's internal affairs.

US vs China

It is not a surprising fact that two world powers are threatening each other involving Bangladesh, as Sheikh Hasina's country's location on the world map makes them super essential for both China and the United States.

China is helping Bangladesh not only in the country's growth and development, but Bangladesh is also taking help from the Chinese government in the defense sector. In the last decade, China has supplied arms, ammunition, military tanks, and fighter jets to the Sheikh Hasina government. Bangladesh has purchased submarines from China.

Strategic Seaport Push: China's Bangladesh Gambit

That means China is strategically making Bangladesh compulsive to depend on them heavily, just like Myanmar, Cambodia, Pakistan, and other countries. China's main motive is to reach the harbor of Bangladesh, near India, so that they can keep an eye on New Delhi. In the name of large-scale infrastructure development, China's main aim is to get access from its nearest Yunnan province to the seaport of Bangladesh, which is close to India.

The Disturbed US:

Whereas the US is more concerned about growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, in recent times, there has been a power tussle between the USA and China as to who will get close to supporting countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh. It's basically a power struggle to capture the areas of the South China Sea, the Andaman Sea, and a part of the Indian Ocean.

Bangladesh's Balancing Act:

After the United States failed to make any impact in the Bangladesh election with the allegation of human rights violations and an undemocratic atmosphere for voting, Sheikh Hasina clearly came back with a thumping majority after no opposition parties participated in the election. So it's like a starting point for Bangladesh to buckle into China's idea of creating mountains of challenge both for India and the United States diplomatically and geopolitically.

Bangladesh promises India that at any cost it will maintain great friendship with India and that no foreign power can use its soil to do any harm to India. Bangladesh has also promised that China's role in Bangladesh should be seen as a partner in development. The Chinese are not their strategic partner as India is, but in reality, a country like Bangladesh cannot manage China when it shifts gears.